The ITL Network calls upon all active members of the law society of Alberta (the “LSA”) to attend the upcoming special meeting on Monday, February 6, 2023. To attend this meeting, pre-registration is required and the deadline to pre-register is Friday January 3, 2023.
The special meeting has been set to vote on a resolution signed by 51 active members to repeal Rule 67.4 of the Rules of the Law Society of Alberta which empowers Benchers to prescribe specific continuing professional development (CPD) requirements for members.
Rule 67.4(1) provides:
“The Benchers may, from time to time, prescribe continuing professional development requirements to be completed by members, in a form and manner, as well as time frame, acceptable to the Benchers.”
The LSA has been a self-regulated entity since it was established in 1907 and the privilege of self-regulation comes at a cost which is the protection of public interest. The LSA is expected to regulate the profession in the interest of the public by prescribing a high standard of professional and ethical conduct by Alberta lawyers. The resolution to be decided upon came in the wake of the mandatory course, The Path, an Indigenous cultural competency online course which was prescribed by the LSA for its active members.
It is worthy of note that the only CPD requirement in Alberta at the moment is the completion of this course which was developed in direct response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Call to Action 27, which states as follows:
“We call upon the Federation of Law Societies of Canada to ensure that lawyers receive appropriate cultural competency training, which includes the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, Indigenous law, and Aboriginal–Crown relations. This will require skills-based training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights, and anti-racism”.
We do not share the opinion of the petitioners that Rule 67.4(1) “unnecessarily diminishes and hinders professional autonomy in the area of CPD” as the Benchers have only used the authority granted to them by Rule 67.4 only to mandate The Path since it was enacted in 2020. The ITL Network believes that the LSA as a regulator should continue to have the authority to prescribe important learning and educational courses to its members in order to maintain a high professional standard and integrity of the legal profession as one that serves the public’s interest. The ITL Network reaffirms its commitment to promoting inclusion, equity and diversity and also reaffirm our commitment to the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. In the words of Justice Murray Sinclair, “reconciliation is about forging and maintaining respectful relationships. There are no shortcuts”. We as lawyers owe it to the general public to continue to lead the charge towards these recommendations without wavering while honoring the truth and reconciling the future.
We urge all internationally trained lawyers in Alberta eligible to vote to pre-register before Friday February 3, 2023 and vote as they see fit.
Signed
“The ITL Network Board”